Dirt on My Shoes
by pessimistie
Summary: "Stay away from Boss." He spoke coldly, eyes never leaving her trembling form. Chapter 2 up. RikkaiAn/Misc. Pairs. Mafia AU Rated T for Langauge
1. Prologue

The sound of ragged panting and thundering footsteps echoed through her adrenaline filled mind as she hurriedly dodged through crowds of people.

_Run. I have to run faster._

"Don't let her out of your sight!"

_Oh god. I have to run faster._

Quickly, she ducked in to the nearest alleyway. It was hardly a smart move since she would be cutting through unfamiliar territory, but all she could think about was _she had to get away_.

"Stop you bitch!" They were gaining on her.

"Shit!" She took a quick left, jumping over garbage and empty bottles strewn across the dirty ground.

"What the hell are you idiots doing? Catch her quick." The footsteps were getting louder, quicker, heavier. Reinforcement. Great.

"I told you! I don't know where my brother is!" The small, brunette woman yelled loudly without turning around, "Leave me alone already!"

Her face paled as she heard the first shot ring through the alleyways followed by a few more.

"Don't kill her, we need her back alive."

_Go away. Go away. Go away. Just go away. _

"Ow!" she was halted when a heavy hand grabbed her by the shoulder; the man had snuck through another alleyway and intercepted her from the side, his beady eyes glaring down at her.

"Nowhere to run now, Tachibana An." An's eyes widened in fear, eyes locking with the larger man's.

"Good work." A young man with long, dark hair sauntered towards them from behind her, a group of men in suits trailing behind. The large man bowed lowly, before backing up slightly away from An. The girl glanced nervously at the dark haired man, "I told you...I don't know where my brother is...just...let me go." Her voice shook slightly when she quietly spoke.

The man snorted, slicking a stray strand of hair away from his face, "I don't care about what you do or don't know. Neither does my boss. Even if you did know," he leaned closer towards her, his handsome face only inches away from hers, "It would be worthless, and it's not like you would cough it up willingly, am I right, An-chan?" he dragged her name out sarcastically with a smirk and leaned away, standing straight now. "Bait does not need to do anything but lure what the captors want. So just shut that pretty trap of yours and just come with us quietly; if you keep making a fuss than, well, I can't guarantee that you'll have a pleasant stay with us." He smiled coldly at her, and waved his hand. The larger man placed his hand heavily on her shoulders again, pushing her slightly towards the now retreating group.

"No...No! Stop! Let go of me! I refuse to go with you, let me go now!" She flailed about, struggling away from her captors iron grip.

"Stupid girl! I told you to shut up; do you want me to break your pretty mouth?" The dark haired man turned back to the pair, eyes blazing in anger, "Hey, just knock her out. I can't take anymore of this shit." The larger man hesitated for second, and An took that as her opportunity. Quickly jerking to her side, he elbowed hard in the stomach and, once she felt his grip loosen from the shock, bolted.

"You dumbass! What the hell are you doing?" the dark haired man was beyond furious now. "After her you fucking retards!" and the chase was on again.

"Looks like you messed up again Shishido. Boss is going to have your head." A man with a short, purple bob spoke loudly from behind him, a grin on his face. "How are you going to fix this mess?"

"Shut the fuck up Gakuto, why are you still standing here? Get that stupid bitch!" Shishido was beyond livid, his face darkening with each word, "If we don't get her now, Boss will have _both_ our heads."

* * *

><p>She could hear the large amount of footsteps echoing through the abandoned alleyway as she continued weaving though, all she needed to do was find the right exit to a recognizable street and, hopefully, be able to locate the closest gang associated with his brother's gang.<p>

The sound of gunfire now took over the sound of footsteps, and angry shouts could now be heard.

_This time, they're coming for real._

She quickened her pace, _Help. Oh god, somebody help._

Chancing a quick look behind her, she craned her neck over her shoulder and paled as she saw the group of suited men were already gaining on her, they're guns flashing in their hands.

_Somebody. Brother. Kamio. Shinji. Somebody._

The next thing she knew, she came crashing into a solid body, causing her to stumble back a few steps.

Her eyes widened, she hoped, _prayed_, that it wasn't one of those goons chasing after her. Slowly, she looked up, only to look eyes with a pair of cold, brown eyes staring back at her. She immediately froze.

_This man is dangerous._

He didn't look like one of the men chasing after her before, he carried an air that was not like an average mobster, but she could tell by one look that he was not someone you would want to encounter, ever.

The man was tall, dressed in a dark suit and a black fedora tilted over his eyes. Another man was standing beside him; he too was wearing a dark suit, with a very short mop of brown hair. The man with the fedora glanced at An briefly, before his eyes zoned in one the group of men coming at them from merely a few yards away.

"Genichirou." An jumped slightly at the quiet voice coming from the man beside the man with the fedora, "I believe that is..."

"I know." The man named Genichirou said, voice deep and edged.

The group chasing An immediately stopped a few feet away from the three wearily, eyeing the two new addictions with suspicion, in some, recognition. Shishido and Gakuto elbowed their way to the front; the former looked like he was ready to murder. The pair froze however when they saw the two men standing behind the now very pale An. They immediately straightened up, eyeing the two men with discomfort.

"Well, well. I didn't expect Rikkai members to be prowling around these parts. Least of all the infamous Sanada Genichirou and Yanagi Renji " Shishido said slowly, eyeing Sanada levelly.

"I could say the same," The man spoke coolly, "I believe this area belongs to us. Hyoutei has no business in these parts."

Shishido clenched his jaw tightly, Gakuto decided to cut in by stepping forward, "Well you see...We don't have business with Rikkai, or you two for that matter," he spoke haughtily, "We just want that girl." He jerked his head towards the brunette and added mockingly, "We'd _really_ appreciate it if you handed her over Mr. Sanada."

Sanada stared at the pair over the rim of his fedora passively and briefly glanced at An.

He grunted and turned away, "Do as you wish. Now get out of my sight." He quickly began to walk away while the other man, Yanagi looked at An and hesitated, but ultimately decided to follow his companion.

Shishido and Gakuto both smirked at their win, "Alright stupid girl, you brought enough trouble for us now get over here now." Gakuto reached out to snatch at An's arm, who quickly jerked away.

"Never! I won't go with you!" An started backing away, glaring at the men in front of her. "I'd never betray my brother by helping you bastards!"

"You little-!" Shishido had enough, quickly storming up to the woman and grabbing her by the hair, "You little bitch," he snarled angrily, "I don't care what the hell the Boss says, I'll fucking beat you so bad even Tachibana won't recognize you." He shook her head a few times to emphasize his point. She cried out in pain and clawed at his hand, trying to pry his fingers away from her scalp as tears began to pool around the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, cool it Shishido. If you do that, she's going to kick up another fuss. My head is hurting enough already, let's just-" Gakuto immediately, eyes growing wide, "Uh, Shishido-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, a hand came down on Shishido's wrist.

"What the-" Shishido glared at the offending hand on his wrist, but when he traced the hand to the owner, he immediately froze. Staring back at him was Sanada Genichirou, his eyes boring into him. "Tachibana?"

Shishido quickly dropped his grip on An's hair and backed away towards where Gakuto was standing. "Yeah...what of it?" his hands dropping towards his gun, Gakuto mimicking his action.

Sanada didn't waver, "Tachibana Kippei I presume?" his gaze dropped towards An, who gazed back up at him slowly, "And you have some relations to him?" An hesitated, but slowly nodded.

"I see." Sanada then turned towards Shishido and Gakuto, looking at them coldly, "Then I will take her off your hands." An froze, she stared at the back of the man standing before her, "What?"

"What?" Shishido echoed her words, an indignant look on his face, "I don't think so, hand that bitch over and we'll be on our way."

"Uh, Shishido..."

"Shut up! There's no way I'm going return empty handed again. Hand that girl over!"

Yanagi, who happened to be standing behind spoke, "I think you should reconsider. Have you forgotten where you are?" he spoke smoothly, but there was an underlying threat in his words. He turned his heavy lidded gaze towards the pair. "It would be in your best interest to the leave the girl with us. The chances of leaving Kanagawa with your lives are quite slim if you try to defy us."

Shishido gritted his teeth, "Oi, Shishido, let's just go. We can't just go picking fights with Rikkai." Gakuto tugged at his arm, directing him back to where they had come from, "We can't win this one."

Shishido started to slowly follow his partner, but not before shooting An a withering glare, "It's not over yet, I'll be back for you An-chan." He stressed her name and turned on his heel, following the purple haired man and their followers.

The three that were left behind watched as they disappeared into the darkness of the alley. An immediately sunk to her knees, she furiously began rubbing the tears still clinging to the corner of her eyes, trying to distract herself from the fact that she was now stuck with new trouble.

_I can't run from this one._

"Tachibana An. 20 years old. Lives with her brother, Tachibana Kippei, boss of Fudomine. Currently missing. Mother deceased. Father on the run. Am I correct, Tachibana-san?" It was Yanagi who had spoken with his smooth voice, but unlike with Shishido and Gakuto, had spoken in a much gentler way.

An blinked, "How...?" Yanagi chuckled, "It's my job." He said simply.

An immediately rose to her feet, "Look, I know you're after my brother and everything...just like everyone else. But I really don't know where he is." She bit her lip, looking down at her feet with her hair curtaining her face.

_And if I did, I'd never tell. I won't betray my brother. Never. Never Kippei._

Her brother was her everything, the only one she could trust, and there was no way she would let his enemies get their hands on him and do god knows what to him.

The pair didn't say anything, but they silently regarded her with analyzing, prying eyes.

"Regardless," Yanagi spoke again, kindly, "You'll have to come with us. It is not safe for a young lady to be on her own here."

_Not like it'll be any safer with you two._

"I-I'm really grateful for your help. Really..." she started to edge away slowly, watching the pair carefully, "But, I..."

Sanada had not said a single word the whole time, but continue to watch her every move. "If you want to see your brother again, I suggest you come with us." He spoke evenly, cold eyes locking with hers.

Run.

She narrowed her eyes, "No...I won't..." Sanada's eyes flashed a look of annoyance and immediately looked at something behind her.

An's body immediately stiffened, she felt a harsh pain on the side of her temple, she stumbled forward and everything began to fade.

The last thing she saw was Sanada looking at her grimly, arms folded in front of him, and Yanagi looking at her passively.

"You should have listened to what you were told."

* * *

><p>AN: Will I finish my other work? Probably not. Will I continue this? Probability is higher. I realllllllyyyy wanted to do this mafia kind of AU, hopefully it'll all work out in the end. Title is subject to change...'cause I honestly can't think of titles...and on another note is rated T ok for this? I couldn't chose between T or M =/


	2. I

Dirt on My Shoes

Rated: T for Violence and Language

Disclaimer: Me no own.

Note: This takes in AU Japan, like around the 1930s-40ish, so no cell phones or high tech stuff here.

* * *

><p>"<em>An...An wake up, you'll be late for school. Don't you have morning classes today?"<em>

_An stirred in her sleep, her eyelids, heavy and refusing to budge, "What? Classes?" she groaned, rubbing her eyes before she froze._

"_Brother? Is that you?" Open your eyes An, open your eyes! She willed herself to, but she didn't find the strength to do so._

"_An, wake up. How long are you planning on lying around?" It was her brother, no doubt about it._

"_Kippei, wait...don't leave me...don't leave me again..."her voice cracked as she reached out trying to grab at him, yet not knowing if she could even reach him. "Don't go...please..."_

"_What are saying An?" he chuckled, "I'm right here, I won't leave you. Not like that man. We're family, I'll always be here." She felt a brush against her cheek, and she could feel tears escape as choked back a sob._

"_Wake up now An, open your eyes."_

"_Brother..."_

"Wake up. Hey!" An felt her whole body jolt as somebody roughly shoved at her side.

"God, this woman sleeps like the dead..." That voice...An had heard that voice somewhere before. She decided to keep her eyes closed, trying to remember what happened and where she was. Her mind could only draw a blank, as pieces of her memory of being chased by Hyotei gang members was all she could remember.

"You probably made her brain dead, you hit her pretty hard back there Kirihara..."

"Yeah, we'll she wasn't going to willingly follow us, and Sanada-san was getting impatient. Can't disobey orders now can I?" An's eyes immediately opened, and quickly she sat up from her lying position.

_"You should have listened to what you were told."_

"You...you...!" An's eyes scanned for the culprit, but was unable to identify who it was, since there was not actually just two men in the room, but four.

One man, was standing next to her bedside (_Why am I on a bed? _She shuddered), he had bleached white hair, some of his hair had been pulled into a short ponytail at the base of his neck. The man eyed her, slightly amused, "Well, well, looks like Sleeping Beauty has awakened. Aw, and we didn't even get a chance to land a smooch on her yet...Kirihara, you were too slow."

She spluttered at his words...and so did the person sitting on the bed, his hand on her shoulder.

"What...? Niou-san, what the hell are you saying!" The man sitting by her side was clearly flustered at his words, "Have you forgotten who she is, stupid!" An chanced a glance at the man by her side. He had curly, short black hair with fairly sharp features and bright green eyes. The voice...was definitely of the mysterious person that knocked her out. She continued to scrutinize him; luckily the pair bickering didn't seem to notice at all.

_He barely looks older than me._

"Hey, that's rude brat. Didn't we teach you to respect your elders?" the man, Niou, teased and poked the curly haired man on the forehead. Kirihara, at least An assumed was his name, scowled at him, "Yeah, well I had lousy teachers." Which earned him another flick on the forehead, and eventually resulted in a mini brawl. An rolled her eyes.

_Better not let my guard down._

Her eyes roamed to the other two men in the room. One man was slumped over a desk, fiddling with something in his hands; he had ridiculously bright red hair that barely brushed against his shoulder. She couldn't see his face, since his slumped figure caused his hair to fall over his face as continued to fiddle with whatever it was in his hands.

The other man standing nearby was dark skinned (_A foreigner?_), with his hair completely shaven off. The handsome man was watching Kirihara and Niou wrestling each other on the floor with an exasperated look on his face; however, he did nothing to stop them. An's eye shifted around the room to assess the situation.

"_Always be aware of your surroundings, look and find any possible escape routes and take note of them." _

Kippei had taught her this at a young age, and it has never failed her. She was going to escape, she was sure of it. So far, the room was fairly small with a small window and, judging from the scenery, she was up fairly high. Light was still pouring through the room, and unfortunately there was no clock.

_Still day time, but how long was I out?_

Her eyes flickered to the door; the dark skinned man however was blocking the way. Her fingers twitched in her lap, the room was bare except for the desk that the redhead was occupying and the bed she was still in. There was probably nothing in the room she could use to help her; her captors did a good job of making sure of that it seemed.

"You won't be able to escape you know." An blinked and turned to the Redhead, who now had his head up, and was currently staring at her intently. "Our Boss insists that you stay for a while, says it's dangerous for a young lady to run around in that part of Kanagawa on her little lonesome." An rolled her eyes, "I suppose that's true, but I hardly find this situation any better." She bit back sarcastically. The redhead blinked, and then laughed, "Yeah...yeah, you know what that's true."

The man leaned back in the chair he sat on, and An could clearly see the object in his hand now. She screeched angrily, "What! What are you doing with that? That's mine, give it back!" She sprung out of the bed and snatched at the locket in his hands.

"Whoa there! Geez, I was just looking at it...Piece of junk doesn't even open. Here, take it back...yeesh." The man shoved the locket in to her hands, a frown on his face, "What? Is it a present your brother left for you or something?"

An glared at him, clutching the locket closer to her, "That's none of your business." She spoke frostily.

"Actually, it is." It was Niou that spoke, the two had broken up their fight right when An had angrily insisted that she got her locket back, he dusted himself off before turning back to address An, "If it was from your brother, we may need to...ah..._borrow _it for a while." Niou made to move towards An, but she quickly shuffled away, eyes watching him wearily. "It's not from my brother."

Niou rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right...Come on, hand it over. We'll be the judge of it's usefulness or not. "

"No!"

Niou's features began to darken a bit, he moved forward, hand raised, "Look woman, just hand it over. You're not exactly in a position to be saying no." He spoke coldly.

An didn't say anything, nor did she make in movements; she simply stared at him with wide eyes.

The room was silent, no one made any movements. Kirihara watched intently with an anxious look, the dark skinned man watched her impassively while the redhead turned away from them and pulled out a stick of gum.

Niou was starting to grow impatient, "I don't know what kinda sissy little gang your brother used to run, but us Rikkai members aren't as nice as you'd think. Yes, this is a threat. You'd better hand it over or I'll beat you til you're black and blue." An bit the inside of her cheek, steeling herself. Slowly she looked up til her eyes locked with his, "I won't."

Niou clenched his jaws, eyes flashing; he raised his hand high up, ready to slap her.

"Niou. I think we should report to Boss now that she is awake, let him deal with her." The dark skinned man said, "Marui, you come too." He turned on his heels, opened the door, and left. The redhead looked up from his spot at the desk, a neon pink bubble blooming in front of his face. Popping it, he turned to Niou, "Calm down Niou, let's go. Little Lady, you just got lucky." Standing up from his spot, he made his way to the door, on his way he clapped his hand on Niou's shoulder well nodding towards the door.

"Hey! What about me? Wait! Jackal-san! Marui-san," Kirihara looked at Marui with an exasperated look, "Don't tell me I have to stay with her!" Marui simply shrugged and left.

Niou dropped his arm to his side, snorting, "Don't be such a whiny brat. We'll be back soon; Boss was really looking forward to meeting her." He turned to eye her coolly at his last words. Quickly, he left the room, closing the door loudly behind him.

"You weren't really going to beat her up were you?" Marui turned to the other man, his eyebrow raised and gum snapping in his mouth. "'Cause if you were, Sanada-san would beat _you_ black and blue."

Niou scoffed, "Of course not, I'd never hit a lady. I'm not some brute." Marui rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right, whatever."

"I don't really like what that implied there Bunta-chan." Marui shot him a dirty look, but paused, "You don't think Kirihara's gonna kill her do you? I mean, he's got a really short temper and everything..."

Niou shrugged, and continues to saunter after Jackal, "Who cares? We won't get in any trouble if he's the one who did it."

"Uh, yeah we will. Sanada-san would probably say something like we should have known better." Niou stopped; Marui, who nearly crashed into him, flipped him off. "Hey, watch it!"

Niou rubbed his chin, "Shit. He would kill us...what are the chances that those two would kill each other? We won't get in trouble if that happens right?" Marui pursed his lips, "Nope, we'd still get bitched at. Most likely twice as much." Niou sighed, "God I hate this job."

* * *

><p>"Whoa, you look like crap."<p>

"Shut up." Shishido looked up from his position braced against the sink in the bathroom, glaring over his shoulders at a grinning Gakuto, "You look messed up too."

Gakuto shrugged, "Just a black eye and a couple bruises, nothing I can't hide...but looks like Boss got the underlings to land quite a bit on you." He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, eyeing Shishido's pale complexion uneasily. "Want me to get Yuushi? He'll patch you right up..."

"...No...forget it." Shishido ran a hand across his face, lips pursed, "Fuck. All this shit just for some fucking bitch." His whole body ached, dark bruises lined up and down his arms as well as spots on his face.

_Probably a lot more hidden under his clothes too. _Gakuto thought grimly. He wisely chose to keep silent as he continued watching Shishido quietly.

"Tachibana...it's always a Tachibana that always gets me in these messes. Fuck!" Shishido slams a fist against the side of the sink. "...nough..."

Gakuto blinked, standing up straight and cocking his head to the side, "What?"

"I said I've had enough!" Shishido yelled throwing the drawer under the sink open, rifling through the contents.

"Wha-What are you doing?" Gakuto immediately went to Shishido's side but stopped when the dark haired man pulled out a pair of scissors, the sharp metal glistening under the bright lights in the bathroom. "Hey man, what do you think you're doing? Put that down..." Gakuto nervously spoke, slowly inching closer to him.

"I'm nothing more than those little pawns we boss around now, Gakuto. Just because I couldn't catch some stupid little girl. Now I'm reduced to this." Shishido spoke quietly his hand clutched the pair of scissors tightly, "Is it because I'm still too weak?" Gakuto shook his head, "Dude, it's not that! Besides...you'll rise back up the ranks eventually, don't sweat it. I'll help you! I'll get Yuushi to help you too, so just calm down." He placed a hand on Shishido's shoulder, "Come on. Calm down and just give me those scissors."

Shishido roughly shoved his hand away from his shoulder, glaring at him, "No way."

Before Gakuto could even say another word, he grabbed his long hair and snipped a chunk of hair of.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

Gakuto watched with wide eyes as he watched Shishido snip off more and more hair and watched as the floor around him was soon covered in long locks of dark brown hair. "Shishido..."

"I won't mess up again. I'll definitely get her this time, I swear it." Brushing away bits of stray hairs that still clung to his face, Shishido turned to look Gakuto straight in the eyes. "This will be the last time you'll ever see me like this ever again Gakuto, so you'd better take a good look."

Gakuto sighed, shaking his head, "You...never mind. Here, you missed a spot. Not to mention the fact that it's completely uneven." He held up his hand and wiggled his fingers to get Shishido to hand him the scissors still clutched in his shaking fingers. Wordlessly, he passed it to the purple haired man and watched him snip of the rest of his hair through the bathroom mirror.

* * *

><p>AN: Yeaaahhhh, fast update for once.

And thanks for the reviews to those that bothered to!


	3. II

**Dirt on My Shoes**

"So she's awake?"

Jackal nodded, "Yes, Kirihara's watching her right now."

The man before him leaned back in his leather chair behind a large oak desk, nodding, "I see, then bring her to the dining hall for dinner later."

Jackal, Marui and Niou both bowed, "Yes, Boss." And exited the room together.

"Genichirou." Sanada moved from the corner of the room to stand behind his Boss, "Yes, Boss?" The man stood from his seat and moved towards the large windows in his office, staring out of it thoughtfully, "What do you think?"

Sanada blinked, than bowed his head slightly, "I'm sorry, but I do not understand your question..." The blue haired man that they addressed as Boss, chuckled softly, "Ah...I'm sorry. I meant Tachibana An. What do you think? Do you think she'll tell us the truth?" He turned towards Sanada with a small smile. "I've heard rumours about her, I'd doubt she'd tell us the location of her brother so easily."

Sanada nodded his head, "She is stubborn. That I am sure." Yukimura Seiichi smiles, "Ah, yes. I heard from Renji that even though those Hyotei thugs were treating her roughly she refused to reveal a thing." Yukimura runs his hand through his shoulder length hair, "How troublesome, I was hoping this would be easy."

"If you like Boss, I can take care of this situation myself." Sanada watched Yukimura pace around the room thoughtfully. "No. If I let you have your way, the poor thing would simply break in to tears." Yukimura smiled at him half-heartedly, "I think it'd be better if we tried to coax it out of her. Play the nice game." Sanada hesitated, "If that is what you want, Boss."

* * *

><p>"So..." Kirihara examined his nails lazily, "Anyone ever tell you you're one crazy bitch?"<p>

An scowled from her spot at the desk, previously occupied by Marui, "No. People I knew tended to have a better vocabulary." She glared at him while brushing her fingers against the cool metal of her locket.

"Then I'm telling you now, you're crazy. Niou-san was definitely going to slap the crap out of you." Kirihara leaned forward from his spot on the bed, "Seriously, what's with the locket?"

"That's none of your business." She turned her gaze away from him, and chose to stare out of the window instead.

"Marui-san said it doesn't open...what's in it?"

"I don't know."

"You...don't know? Well have you ever tried opening it?"

"No."

Kirihara looked at her incredulously, "What? Why the hell not?" He scooted closer to the edge of the bed, eyes flashing excitedly, "Aren't you curious? I mean it looks pretty old...maybe something cool is inside."

"You got to be kidding me." An scoffed, "How old are you? There's nothing important in it...it's just a locket." She looked at him through the corner of her eye.

"Oh, come on!" Kirihara sprung from his seat with a pout, "You're no fun...and if you _must_ know, I'm 23 years old. Born September 25. Type O." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, with an impish grin. An snorted, rolling her eyes. "Could have fooled me." Unfortunately, she could barely suppress the smile that threatened to spread across her face.

"You're not cute at all." Kirihara scowled now leaning over An, one arm braced against the desk, "You know if you show at least one of us what's inside, no one's gonna harass you for it again."

"I already said that there's nothing inside," she bit out and leaned slightly away from him, "It's not my fault you lot can't get it through your thick skulls."

Kirihara glared down at her, she could have sworn his eyes flashed red for a second, "We're not stupid. That's why we're asking." He spoke coolly.

"Well, I'm telling you there is nothing in it! Like that stupid old man would leave anything with money value to us." She said acidly, glaring back at him. Kirihara was slightly startled in her sudden change in attitude, quickly pulling away from her, he eyed her curiously with his head cocked to the side, "Old man?"

"Oi! Kirihara, you still in live in there...or better yet, is the Little Lady still alive in there?" Marui Bunta decided to barge in to the room before An could say anything else, much to Kirihara's frustration.

"Marui-san! You-" Kirihara gave an exaggerated sigh, "Never mind, no matter how many times I say it, you'll still be an idiot."

Marui rolled his eyes, "Like you're one to talk." Pop. "Anyways, seems like Boss wants to see you for dinner tonight. So we're gonna, like, pull the whole fairy tale princess thing." Marui eyed her dirtied and worn out clothing, "'Cause let's face it...no one wants to look at somebody dressed like they just came crawling out of the sewer."

An looked at Marui uneasily, "Uh, fairy tale princess thing? What are you talking about?"

Marui grinned, patting her on the head and then quickly pulling away with a disgusted look on his face. "Ok, that's just gross. What the hell is in your hair?" An decided not to dignify that question with an answer. Marui sighed, "A bath, my god do you need one...and then Jackal and Niou are gonna be your fairy godmothers."

An looked horrified at the thought, while Kirihara threw his head back and laughed, "Are you serious? Jackal-san and Niou-san are? Oh, this is rich..."

"You better watch it Aka-chan," Marui wagged a finger at Kirihara, mockingly, "They'll come and pretty you up when you least expect it." Turning to An, he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her out of the room. "Well, time to get ready for the ball Little Lady."

"Wha-! Hey let go, I can walk on my own!" An slapped at his hand, "Where are you taking me?"

"Why, it's bath time of course. You reek, seriously, when was the last time you bathed?" An squawked indignantly at the comment.

Kirihara watched as Marui dragged the protesting An out of the room, the door closing softly behind them. He scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Should I follow them...? Nah, I could really use a nap." He plopped his head down on to the pillow and closed his eyes. A minute later, he jumped off the bed and a loud "Ew! Gross!" could be heard all the way down the hallway.

"Alright, Little Lady, here's the bathroom. Make sure you get behind your ears," Marui grinned, shoving An into the bathroom, "Really, scrub hard, you stink _really_ bad."

Marui turned to leave, but paused and turned back towards the brunette with a sly grin, "Do you need any help? I would be more than happy to help such a pretty girl..." An's face reddened slightly, "No thanks." She tried to say coolly, but her words shook slightly. "I can take care of myself."

Marui pouted, "Aw, too bad." He shrugged and left, closing the door behind him. An sighed and looked around the...not that small bathroom. No, this was huge, twice the size of the room she was previously in for sure. The tub was already filled; she dipped her finger in it to find that the water was still warm. Slowly, she began to undress and climb in to the tub. Sighing, she sank deeper into the water so that the water just barely passed her shoulders, and closed her eyes.

_So, I'll be meeting the Boss._

An combed through her hair with her fingers, grimacing when she felt the greasiness of it and she pulled her hand away. Now she understood why Marui had reacted the way he did. It wasn't like she didn't want to keep clean, but being chased by Hyotei _and_ St. Rudolf mobsters didn't really leave her with much of a chance to take a nice relaxing bath.

Sitting up, she examined the many bottles of shampoos sitting on the corner of the tub. She immediately stopped as she reached for the strawberry vanilla shampoo.

_What am I doing? I can't let my guard down. They're probably trying to lure me into a false sense of security and then try to beat any information out of me._

She bit her lip, her hand landing on her desired shampoo and resting there.

She wasn't too sure if that was the case. The man Marui seemed nice enough, _I guess_, and Kirihara didn't seem too bad, he had tried to warn her that the others were persistent, in his own way. However, the moment where Niou had turned aggressive towards her flashed across her mind.

_They're mafia men. They don't know what mercy is._

She gritted her teeth; she knew that all too well. Slowly, she began to wet her hair and start shampooing it, massaging her scalp until a pile of white foam grew.

_I can't trust anyone here. They're probably just like Hyotei._

She reached for the liquid soap; eyes glazed and mind wandering, as she applied it to her skin.

_I can't trust mafia men; they're nothing but cold blooded killers._

An image of her brother flashed through her mind, _but not Kippei, he wouldn't do that...right?_

She grimaced at the water, now turned grey in color after rinsing off. _Whatever._ She pulled the plug, and turned the shower head on, letting the water wash off any more soap.

_I won't tell them a thing._

There was a loud knocking on the bathroom door interrupted her thought, "Hey! You done yet? You're not dead are you?"

An rolled her eyes, "Unfortunately, no, no I'm not." Did they wish she was? She turned off the shower head and stepped out, grabbing the towel placed on the chair next to the tub, a bathrobe also draped on the back of the chair. After drying herself off, she slipped on the bathrobe and exited the bathroom, where an impatient looking Marui stood with a scowl, "Took you long enough, I thought you drowned or-" he paused, eyed An up and down and whistled.

An pursed her lip, "Pig." Marui grinned, "Well, I _am_ a man...even I can show my appreciation for-" An cut him off with a glare and hard slap on the arm.

Marui's eyes widened in shock, "Did you...just hit me?" An froze, _crap I did_. She looked stiffly at Marui to gauge his reaction. "Little Lady. You really have some balls, to hit a genius assassin like me." His face was serious, but An could hear the amusement in his voice. He gripped her shoulders, "Come on, your godmothers a wait! And let me say, they're quite pissy from waiting for you."

An chose not to say anything, letting the red head lead her to a room located two doors away from the bathroom she had just come out of.

"Finally, I thought Marui strangled you to death or something." Niou said, but made no move to stand from his relaxed form lying on the queen sized bed.

_They must really hate me_, she thought with a twitch to her lips.

Jackal waved at An to come closer, near the vanity. "I'll dry your hair, hurry before you catch a cold." An hesitated, but moved towards the dark skinned man. Jackal motioned for her to sit down, which she did obediently. Jackal pulled out the hair dryer, turned it on and started to slowly dry her hair while running a brush gently through her hair.

An stiffened slightly, Jackal noticed and commented on it, "What's wrong? Does it hurt?" he asked softly, but loudly enough to be heard through the loud whirling sounds of the hair dryer.

"No, it's just...it feels weird." Jackal stared at An, "How so?"

An bit her lip, sinking slightly in her seat, "I've never had anyone do this for me before." She mumbled, suddenly very embarrassed. Jackal stopped his movements, but continued nonetheless, "I see."

Niou rolled his eyes from his spot on the bed and gently shoved Marui, who had also sat down on the bed to watch Jackal, and got up, "I'll go get the makeup." Marui snickered, "That sounded so...feminine of you Niou-kun." Niou gave him the finger and started rummaging through the drawers of the vanity, ignoring the satisfied smirk Marui was giving him.

"Alright," Jackal turned off the hair dryer, "Finished." He ran the brush a few more times through her hair before pulling away.

Marui nodded from his spot on the bed while Niou hummed, drumming a finger against his chin.

"I suppose it's now time for the hard part."

"The...hard part?" An echoed suspiciously.

* * *

><p>Kirihara didn't know if he should laugh or...laugh at what he was hearing when he decided to finally join Marui and the others after a long, hot shower.<p>

"I think she should wear the purple dress."

"No way! It should be the pink one! She _is_ a girl you know."

"I don't believe that is a valid reason Marui, I think blue would suit Tachibana-san more." Jackal intervened calmly.

"What! That thing looks like something a grandma would wear. Jackal, get your eyes checked, the purple one is so much better." Niou shook the dress in his hand for emphasis.

"Why? Because it shows more?" Marui asked, with a sneer.

"_Yes_, and it isn't a color that can't burn your eyes off."

"Hey! I'm the one wearing it, I should get a say!" An interjected with a scowl.

"Stay out of this! I'm trying to save you from wearing granny clothing."

"Right. By making her look like a tramp."

"Shut up Marui."

"Are you guys hearing yourselves?" Kirihara snickered as he leaned against the door frame, "You sound like old aunties trying to pick a dress for their niece. You guys are really doing your parts, fairy godmothers."

"What the-When did you get in here? Never mind, Kirihara, you tell them! The purple dress is so much better."

Kirihara looked at the dress in Niou's hand, it barely covered anything. "Boss would kill you if you make her wear that." He looked at An, who had an expression that clearly said 'I wish I was anywhere but here right now'.

"I know right! That's why the pink one would suit her better." Kirihara squinted at the bright pink dress, "I don't think so. It's so bright, I can't even look at it." Marui pouted, "But-!"

"That's why-"

"No Jackal-san, your taste in clothing sucks."

Jackal frowned, "It's not _that_ bad...Kirihara, you have to help pick _something_ here..."

"If you'd just let me have a say-"

"Quiet Princess, we're trying to make you pretty here." Niou waved dismissively at her. An in turn shot him a dirty look.

Kirihara hummed, "Well, if I were a girl with good taste..." Niou and Marui snickered, but quickly stopped when Kirihara made a move to grab another dress thrown on the bed, "I'd pick this one."

"Good thing you're not a girl then 'cause it's..."Marui paused. The other three men looked at the green dress in Kirihara's hand and then looked at An, "Actually...it's not that bad."

Kirihara smirked, "Of course," Niou rolled his eyes at the cocky way he said it, "It's not skimpy, it doesn't burn your eyes _and_ it's considered fashionable."

Niou smirked, "You sure do know your dresses Akaya-chan. Been reading those wedding magazines again?" Kirihara glared at Niou, before thrusting the dress into An's arms. "Yeah...well...you suck!"

"Wow, critical damage." Marui said sarcastically, "Can't believe it's our little Akaya-chan who picked the right one out," Marui pretended to sniffle while Kirihara looked like he was ready to kill, "They grow up so fast."

"Well, if you had let me have my say, I would have said that the green dress was better too. Like, fifteen minutes ago." An said flatly.

Niou flicked her on the forehead, "Right. Sure you would have."

An growled, "Look, just get out, all of you. I have to change in to it now." Niou and Marui grinned mischievously, "Actually..." Kirihara started with a grin.

Jackal sighed, "Come on, everyone out. Tachibana-san, we'll see you at dinner." He ushered a protesting Marui and Kirihara out the door.

"When you're done changing, call me. I'll do your makeup." Niou said over his shoulders as we followed the three, "I'll try not to make you look like a clown."

"No thanks I'll do it myself." An said coolly. Niou scoffed, "Sorry, but you don't seem to be the type that has experience with makeup, I don't want you to make a fool out of yourself now." He said mockingly. An bit her lip, "...fine."

"Atta girl, you should normally be this obedient, it'll get out of a lot of messes." An sent him a heated glare as the silvery haired man left the room with a wide grin. An stared at the door with an unamused look on her face, fingering the silky dress in her hands.

_Obedient? Me? Like I'd let them train me to be their dog. _

She takes off her bathrobe and silently slips on the dress, carefully so she wouldn't mess up her hair. She had to admit, Jackal did a fairly good job; normally, her hair would have started sticking up in odd angles at this point. She gently brushes out the skirt of her dress, smoothing out the material, and then turning to examine herself in the mirror hanging next to the bed, across from the vanity.

Her eyes widened slightly, Kirihara _had_ done a good job in picking out the dress. Forest green in color, the skirt hung an inch past her knees, with thin spaghetti straps. It was a pretty dress indeed.

_Well, at least it doesn't make me look like a whore._

She eyed the dress Niou had thrown haphazardly over the back of the vanity chair with distaste.

"Alrighty, I assume you're finished changing right?"

An jumped, whirling around to see an amused Niou, his arms folded across his chest.

"How...When did you get in here?" She asked with wide eyes_, Crap, I forgot to check if the doors were locked._

Niou laughed, "Don't worry; I'm not in to flat chested little girls." He raised his hands up protectively in front of himself, "Besides, it's not like you have much to hide."

An's fist shook at her sides, _I'm going to kill him._

"Anyway, it's makeup time. So sit your cute little butt in that chair so we can get started." He roughly shoved her into the chair, "And then, like the gentleman that I am, I'll escort you to dinner."

An scoffed, "Oh really? A gentleman now, are you?"

"Why yes I am. At least that's what the ladies tell me. Now, shut your trap so I can get started. Believe me when I say I have a lot to work on." He smirked as he picked up a brush. An scowled, sticking her tongue out childishly at him, which only earned her a smirk and nose pinching.

"I told you, hold still. Don't want to slip up and accidently gauge your eye out."

_I'll gauge your eyes out._ She thought bitterly as she closed her eyes, allowing the smirking man to work on his task.

* * *

><p>"I'll see you tomorrow Sakuno!"<p>

A young woman with two braided pig tails waved at her friend with a small smile, "I'll see you tomorrow Tomo-chan!" She turned and headed towards a black car, a man with shortly cropped hair waiting patiently by it's side. As the young woman neared, the man bowed respectably and opened the door for her, "Good afternoon Sakuno-sama." Ryuuzaki Sakuno smiled kindly at the man before climbing in to the back of the car, "Good afternoon Oishi-san." The man closed the door and walked around the car, entering from the driver's side.

After waiting patiently for Sakuno to buckle in, he started the engine and began driving away from the campus of Tokyo University. The drive was silent, and Sakuno found it oddly strange, as the usually mother like Oishi-san would inquire about her day and they would end up talking about the many things she learned that day in school.

"Oishi-san."

"Yes, Sakuno-sama?" Oishi asked softly.

"Has something happened?" She pursed her lips, Oishi was never the one to lie to her, he was someone she trusted dearly and knew well enough, something was surely amiss.

Oishi didn't answer immediately, eyes still focused on the road; but surely and slowly, he answered softly, "Your grandmother wishes for you to quite school, Sakuno-sama." Sakuno froze, eyes wide, "What? Why?"

Oishi bit his lip, "It seems that Boss wants you take over as soon as possible, and that you shouldn't waste your time in school when you should be preparing to be the next Boss instead."

Sakuno squeezed her eyes shut; the next boss, was that all she could look forward to?

_What about my own dreams?_ She thought bitterly.

"It seems we have trouble arising," Oishi continues, "She wants you to be ready in case something does happen to her." Her eyes widened, "What? Trouble? What's going on? I thought grandmother has already taken care of things with Hyotei and St. Rudolf?"

Oishi sighs, "No, it seems that they still want to pursue it, they are being very persistent on the subject."

Sakuno slumped in her seat, "Then, are you saying...?"

"This could mean war." Oishi said grimly, "Sakuno-sama, Boss insists that you lead Seigaku should she fail."

Closing her eyes, Sakuno covers them with her shaking hands.

A/N: Yup, almost everyone is going to be in this fic. I know, I know, An and Kirihara are so suppose to be the same age, but in this world, the ages are all different. Why? Because it'd be kinda of weird if all the characters are like around the same age with only an age difference about one or two years apart. Well, that's just my opinion.


	4. III

An twists a lock of hair nervously as she watched Niou gently closes the door behind him.

He turns to face her, slightly tilting his head, "Well, it's time to meet the Boss." He bowed mockingly, "And I'll be your escort My Lady." He offered his arm with a smirk, while An simply stared at him incredulously. When she made no move to link arms with him, he rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, placing it in the crook of his arms.

"Don't be such a snob." He sneered down at her, leading her towards a large staircase that looked like something you would see in movies. Almost like the one she saw in a movie Kippei and her had snuck in to when they were kids, it was certainly amazing.

But, oh, why'd there have to be so many stairs? Her heels clicked loudly against the steps, and she had to clutch Niou's arm tightly as she wobbled down. She could tell Niou was finding it very amusing, watching her face scrunch up in concentration with each step. As they neared the last three steps, Niou suddenly pulled away, "Better watch yourself Pumpkin." He said nastily, and pushed her forward. She screeched as pitched forward, closing her eyes tight as she readied herself to brace for the fall. Luckily, someone had grabbed on to her waist, pulling her back upright. She opened her eyes slowly; the person still had their arms around her waist, craning her neck slightly to peer at her saviour, her expression soured as she saw that it was the culprit who had decided to save her from a nasty fall.

"What is your problem?" she asked quietly, almost dangerously, "Are you not right in the head? Are you bipolar or something?" she roughly shoved him away from her, ascending the last two steps, turning to the man when she reached the bottom. Niou's expression was blank, staring down at the brunette. The two continued to stare at each other for a few minutes before Niou smiled, one that didn't really reach his eyes. He descended the steps and stood next to An, "I'm sorry Princess," An glared at him, she knew he didn't mean it, "I couldn't help myself, you remind me too much of Kirihara. I just wanted to mess with you a bit." He took her hand once again and placed it in the crook of his arm, but this time he was met with a bit of resistance from An.

"You're insane." She hissed at him, as Niou lead them towards the dining hall.

"So I've been told. Countless times." Niou didn't seem fazed at all, as she continued to shot nasty looks at him, he chose to ignore her instead of trying to provoke her again.

The pair stopped in front of large oak doors, Niou placed his free hand on the doorknob, "You ready to dine with the devils?" He asked, eyes flashing mischievously.

She clenched her free hand breathing in deeply, the material of her skirt bunched in her small fists. She exhales slowly, before nodding slowly. Niou nodded, turning the handle of the door knob and pushing the door open. An's eyes widen.

The dining room was very beautiful, bright chandelier lights hung over the magnificent oak table in the middle of the room. The walls were painted a wine red color, with paintings of miscellaneous objects hanging on the walls. A few men stop with their backs against the walls, face impassive, while the table was occupied by a only about a handful of people. Marui, Jackal and Kirihara sat closest to the door way. Marui and Kirihara both had matching grins, and only Marui had the audacity to wink and give her a thumbs up in discreet way. Jackal simply nodded, and looked away. Niou tugged at the hand trapped in his arm, directing her to the opposite end of the table. An nervously gazed at the other man at the end of the table. There was one man that had purplish coloured hair, a pair of thick framed glasses perched on his nose. The man briefly nodded at Niou, and turned his gave away. The other man sitting next to him was the man with heavy lidded eyes she met in the alleys. He offered her a small smile before he too turned his gave away. Across from him sat the intimidating man that was also at the alleys, however, he had his hat off and did not even look at her at all, instead looked straight in front of him with a blank stare. At the very end of the table was a man with blue hair and matching blue-grey eyes. An couldn't help but stare, the man was certainly very beautiful, if it weren't for the somewhat masculine structure of his face, she would have mistaken him for a woman.

An hadn't realized she was staring until she noticed the blue haired man smiling gently, an amused twinkle in his eye. Her face immediately reddened in embarrassment; she could feel Niou's arm shake, most likely from trying to hold in his laughter. Niou stopped in front of the seat between Sanada and Yukimura, pulling it out and guiding her in to her seat. After tucking the seat in after her, he crossed to the opposite side of the table to sit in between the man with glasses and Marui.

The room was silent, no one said a word. An shifted uncomfortably, as she could feel eyes boring holes in to her. She looked at Yukimura from the corner of her eye, only to see that it was him who was staring intensely at her. She sunk in to her seat in embarrassment; she could feel her face heat up.

"You must hungry." Yukimura spoke softly, the smile never leaving his lips. He didn't wait for her to answer, instead, waved his hand lazily. Immediately, the men that were stationed against the wall disappeared, and returned later with plates and plates of food, setting them in front of everyone occupying the table. Yukimura nodded when they finished and flicked his wrist again, the men all bowed before exiting the room. "Please, help yourself. Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything else."

An eyed the food wearily, but nodded silently. Everyone else had began to eat, no one speaking, but An was certain they were just waiting for their Boss to initiate _something_. She looked down at her own plate of food, she _was_ starving, but she made no move to touch it. Her hands lay clasped in her lap, _it could be poisoned_, she thought grimly. Yukimura watched her silently; he then placed the fork in his hand down and turned slightly in his seat to address An. "I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Yukimura Seiichi, I am Rikkaidai's second Boss." He took one of An's hand that was on her lap, and pulled it close to his face so he could place a gently kiss on top. "I really do hope you enjoy your stay here Tachibana-san." An hesitated, before nodding silently. Even though Yukimura's smile was still plastered on to his lips, it did not feel right to her.

_There is definitely something wrong with this._

Yukimura was still watching her carefully, her hand still in his. "Tachibana-san?"

Slowly, she pulled her hand away from his, "Are you looking for my brother too?" she asked, calmly, though the hand in her lap gripped at her skirt once again.

Everyone was looking at An know, their food completely forgotten. Yukimura's smile slowly edged away.

"You're wasting your time." She said quietly, eyes barely able to look Yukimura in the eyes, "I don't know where he is...and he...won't come for me." Her voice shook at the end, "So if you want me to be your bait, you can forget it, he won't come. He's already left me behind." She squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth.

* * *

><p><em>The pounding on the door grew louder.<em>

_Her grip on the phone tightened, "Come on! Come on! Kippei, pick up!" The phone continued to ring, but no one answered on the other end._

"_Oi! Tachibana, open this fucking door right now!" The pounding continued._

_Oh god was she scared. The ringing continues and so did the beating on the door._

_She continued to stand, in middle of the living room of their tiny house, the phone still in her hands, yet her movement was restricted due to the chord._

"_Forget this shit, just kick it down!"_

_Her eyes widened, dropping the phone, she ran towards the back door of the kitchen. There was a loud crash and many footsteps could be heard trampling through the house. An just barely made it out in to the front of the house, when she was spotted. _

"_There she is! Grab her!"_

_She ran._

* * *

><p>She feels a gentle brush against her cheek and she is immediately awakened from surfacing memories. Her eyes trained to the blunette. Yukimura gazed at her passively; his hand still lingered near her cheek for a moment, before he slowly pulled away.<p>

"Tachibana-san, please try to understand, we do not wish to harm you and we will not force you to do anything against your will. We merely wish to find your brother and discuss certain things with him." Yukimura gives her a small reassuring smile. An notes that it seemed somewhat detached, his smile. She does not say a word, merely set her lips in a thin line, looking him straight in the eye.

"Even if you feel like your brother has abandoned you, I doubt that is the case. Your brother has his reasons, I am sure." She glares at him, "What do you know about my brother? Fudomine does not associate with Rikkai, if I remember correctly." She spoke acidly, she could feel the other man sitting beside her tense, but her eyes never left Yukimura's. "What _do_ you know about my brother?"

The tension was heavy, no one dared move. All eyes remained trained towards Tachibana An and Yukimura Seiichi, the two caught in a staring match.

"Because," Yukimura spoke calmly, "I know all about your circumstances. He won't leave his only family behind so simply."

An flinched, "My circumstance? How do you know about-"

"Tachibana-san." Yukimura cuts in, with a tilt of his head and a smile, "You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. As I have said, I really do wish to speak with your brother, as I am sure you are as well." Ending the conversation, the blunette stood from his seat and nodded to everyone else to the table.

"Now, if you'll excuse me." He leaves the rest remaining in their seats, his half eaten meal abandoned in his spot.

After Yukimura left, the heavy door closing loudly behind him, the remaining men all turned to stare at the daring young woman.

An avoided their gaze, she instead chose to pick at her untouched food with her fork, a frown on her face. No one knew what to say; even the usually talkative Marui wasn't sure what to say at that moment.

Eventually, a frustrated Sanada decided to speak.

"You have some nerve, woman."

An glanced at him with the corner of her eye, "So I've been told." She said, flatly. Sanada's expression hardened.

"You have no purpose of being here. We could easily hand you off to Hyotei, do you have any idea what they could do to you? Boss has graciously decided to help you, yet you speak to him with such disrespect."

_I didn't ask for your help_. She thought but dared not say. She instead chose to turn her gaze away, effectively ignoring the now fuming man.

Yanagi, sensing the upcoming danger, decided to calmly intervene. "Genichirou, I think that is enough."

Sanada erased the rage from his face, lips pursed, and stood from his seat. An didn't look up, carefully taking a bite out of her chicken, eyes completely absorbed in her lukewarm meal.

"Excuse me." He spoke frostily, leaving the table with quick footsteps, and disappearing past the wooden door which closed softly behind him.

Yanagi watched him leave before turning towards An, "I suppose a proper introduction is an order. My name is Yanagi Renji. I'll apologize on my partner's behalf; he is under quite some stress, I hope you won't hold anything against him."

An nodded slowly looking up to face the soft spoken brunette, the fork in her hand momentarily forgotten. "I suppose he's right...you two helped me back there after all. Though your approach is another matter." She muttered the last part with a small frown.

The corner of Yanagi's lips twitched in amusement, "Yes, I suppose it wasn't appropriate. I'm glad Akaya didn't hit you too hard." Yanagi noticed her slightly confused expression, "Ah, of course. I suppose the others have not introduced themselves to you yet." He nodded towards the man with glasses beside him.

The man with dark hair turned to face An coolly, face impassive, "I am Yagyuu Hiroshi." An nodded awkwardly when he said no more, "I...see, it is nice to meet you Yagyuu-san. I'm Tachibana An, but I suppose you all know that already." Yagyuu nodded stiffly, "Yes, it is a pleasure to finally meet you Tachibana-san."

An smiled weakly, "Oh, you can just call me An." Yagyuu nodded again, but chose to stay silent.

There was an awkward silence, before Niou decided to cut in, "Well Princess, it would have been better to save the best for last, but it seems everyone's being shy. I'm Niou Masaharu, you can call me whatever you want An-chan." He smirked at her with a wink, while she rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, fine. It's nice to meet you too Niou-san, I guess." She added the last part with sarcasm. Niou shrugged, before elbowing the grinning Marui next to him.

"Oh! Right...Marui Bunta! It doesn't really matter what you call me, I suppose...just don't use the stupid ones Niou comes up with." Marui glared at Niou, who simply grinned innocently next to him.

"Don't worry Marui-san, I won't."

Marui pouted, "Aw, come on. How boring, 'Marui-san'?" An raised an eyebrow, "I thought you said I could call you whatever I wanted? What else should I call you?" Kirihara rolled his eyes, huffing slightly, while Jackal sighed when Marui gave her a flirtatious smile.

"Marui-san, don't give An-chan weird ideas about yourself. I'm sure she thinks you're a perverted old man already." Kirihara said lazily, rolling his spoon around in his hand.

Marui sent him a hard kick in the knee from across the table; Kirihara dropped his spoon and with a gasp of pain gripped his knee. "Damn it Marui-san! What the hell, that hurts!" Marui ignored him and turned to An again, who was watching the scene with an amused glint in her eye. "Well An-chan, I think you can call me something else less boring then 'Marui-san'...maybe something more intimate." His grin could not be any wider, An looked at him with disbelief.

"I think 'Marui-san' is fine, it's within my comfort zone." She spoke flatly, trying hard not to laugh at Marui's crestfallen expression.

Niou snickered behind his hand, Yanagi and Yagyuu both watched on silently, though Yanagi's shoulders shook slightly. Jackal looked did not look amused with the red head's antics, and Kirihara shot Marui a pained smirk, hands still gripping his knee.

A dejected Marui stuck his tongue out at her, "Fine, be like that." He turned to Kirihara, sending him gentle kicks to his other foot that was unharmed, "Your turn Kirihara."

The curly haired man flipped him off, before crossing his arms across his chest with an annoyed scowl, "Kirihara Akaya. I don't respond to anything else besides Kirihara-sama." He said haughtily. Marui and Niou burst out laughing; even Jackal and Yanagi looked slightly amused by it.

An giggled, "Right. Well I hope we get along well then, Kirihara-kun." She stressed his name with a grin.

"Hey!" Kirihara sat up from his slouching position, planting both his hands splayed on the table, "What did I just say?"

"An-chan!" Marui whined, "That's not fair! Why does he get a '-kun' in the end and not '-san'? I want to be called that too!" An scoffed, staying silent.

"'Kirihara-sama!' Say it with me now, 'Kirihara-sama'." Niou snorted at Kirihara's attempt to make An say it, "Give it a rest Aka-chan, she's not gonna do it."

"An-chan!" Marui continued to whine, while Niou and Kirihara bickered around him, eventually getting dragged in to the argument himself.

Jackal sighed from his spot next to Kirihara, he craned his head to face an amused An, Sanada no longer keeping the two apart. "I'm Kuwahara Jackal. I'm sorry, but you will have to get you used to their foolishness." Yanagi nodded in agreement from across the table, "It makes the place livelier, though at times it gets a little out of hand."

Jackal rubbed his temple, looking very much annoyed. "A little? Well, in case they do go overboard, feel free to report it to either Boss or Sanada-san, they'll straighten them out." Jackal cast the still bickering three a withering glare, while Yagyuu calmly excused himself.

"An-san, if you have any problems with your living arrangements, please let me know." Yagyuu said, bowing his lead slightly, before hurrying out the room.

An bid him a good night before turning back to Jackal with a quizzical look, "Sanada-san? Who is that?"

The three in the corner immediately stopped arguing, and they instantly pelted her with their own description of the man.

"He's like the king of evil!"

"He's got no personality."

"He can murder people with his bare hands!"

Jackal frowned, lightly hitting Kirihara on the back of his dead in disapproval. "Stop that you guys..."

Yanagi sighed, bringing up a hand to cup his chin, "Well, I suppose that _is_ what he is known for. But, Genichirou is not really like that. You just have to get to know him better."

It clicked into place for An, now realizing that the man that sat next her was Sanada Genichirou. The most dangerous hitman known to many, someone that made even hard boiled men tremble. At least that was what she had heard from Shinji, whether that was true or not, she would eventually find out.

_I hope not_. She thought, remembering how the eerie stare in the alleyway had sent chills down her spine, and scared many of the men there as well.

And she had acted so rudely to him too. She groaned, sinking in her seat, "He's going to murder me in my sleep."

Niou snorted, "I wish." Marui elbowed him in the side.

Yanagi smiled, "No, I don't think he will."

"I don't believe you." An muttered, "He' going to have my head."

"Yup." Kirihara nodded, "You're so dead."

Jackal landed another smack on the back of his head, "An-san, you don't have to worry, Sanada-san does not do things without reason. He especially would not harm a woman."

"Unless he finds you to be a real pain the ass." Niou added flatly, Jackal and Yanagi both gave him warning looks, the ponytailed man simply shrugged carelessly.

An places her fork next her plate, squeezing her eyes shut with a loud sigh. "Everyone always did say I leave quite an impression." She muttered half-heartedly, making most of the men left at the table to smile with amusement and Niou to reply snarkly, "You sure do Princess."

* * *

><p>"So? What did he want?" Akazawa Yoshirou asked, twirling the dart in his hand lazily. "Do we have a job or something, Mizuki?" The tanned man sat up from his seat, flicking his wrist to send the dart dead in to the center of the target.<p>

The man addressed, Mizuki Hajime, chuckled. Twirling a strand of hair with a finger, he handed the tanned man a manila folder with his free hand. "Seems like we have quite the important job this time, Boss."

Akazawa quickly takes the folder in the smirking man's hand and began to flip through the contents, scanning the few pages neatly placed in the folder.

"Huh. Can't believe they're intrusting such a job to us..." he muttered, eyes narrowing. "Can't afford to get their hands to dirty, can they?" Akazawa narrows his eyes, turning to the other man still standing in his office. "Seems a bit over our heads...doesn't it Mizuki? How the hell will we be able to manage this?"

Mizuki scoffs, placing one hand on his hips, "What are you so worried about? This little thing is nothing, I've already got a plan."

Akazawa watches him impassively for a moment before flicking his hand dismissively, "Fine. I'll send them a reply. You can leave."

Mizuki shrugs and saunters out the room, smirk still fixed in place.

Akazawa glared at his retreating back, jaws clenched. God he hated that man. It was unfortunate, though, that this very man has what had managed to pull St. Rudolf from a dingy street gang to a somewhat more functional mafia group.

"Some Boss I turned out to be." He picked up another dart, his eyes honed in on the target. With a flick, he once again managed to hit the target's bull's eye.

He picked up a sheet of paper from the folder, scanning it once again.

"Whoever this Tachibana An is, I feel sorry for her."

* * *

><p>END OF PROLOGUE.<p> 


	5. Chapter 1

**Dirt on My Shoes**

Already a month had passed since the day she was found running through the alleyways of Kanagawa. An frowns, tracing the rim of the tea cup in front of her lazily, watching as Jackal poured more tea in his own cup and offering to pour some more for her as well.

An smiled thinly, shaking her head, and returned to thinking deeply of the month that had flown by so fast. She had thought of escape many times, but there was never really much of an opportunity offered. She found that most of the time, she was accompanied by another person where ever she went in the manor.

Normally, it was always Jackal. On days that Jackal had some business to attend to, he would be replaced by Kirihara; and on days when neither was available, some generic member would watch over her, though she never did see the same person more than once.

Of course, it hadn't been like that the first week she had been here. It was a 'precaution' as Yukimura had kindly stated, after she had gotten lost in the manor. Initially, she was scoping around, trying to memorize possible escape routes and unfortunately, she ended up in a hallway very unfamiliar to her. She hadn't thought that the manor would be that big.

Needless to say, Yukimura had sent everyone, all from varying position, in the manor to find her when Jackal had frantically reported her missing from her room. Fortunately for her, it was Yanagi that found her and not the very annoyed Sanada. Since then, Yukimura insisted that she was watched since he was 'very worried' when Jackal had burst through his office door to tell him that she was missing.

She didn't believe him for a second.

"An-san." An startled at Jackal's quiet voice.

"Huh? Wha-? Oh, I'm sorry Jackal-san..."

Jackal stared at her calculatingly before repeating, what she assumed was, his question.

"Would like dinner brought up here for you tonight?"

"Yes, I'm sorry for the trouble." She never did have dinner with them again in the dining hall, since that day she first met the core members of Rikkai.

Kirihara, the last time she had seen him, had insisted that she wasn't missing out on much. Yukimura and Sanada hardly ever ate in the hall with everyone and apparently Marui and Niou were swamped with 'work' so they were hardly ever in the manor. "Though," he had admitted to her with a smirk, "It is kinda lonely without you there."

To be honest, she really didn't want to eat with them at all. It troubled her, sitting in the same table as them.

She hated the mafia, and anything associated with it. She could hardly believed it when her brother had told her he was going to join one, she was so furious, she didn't speak to her brother for weeks. Her jaw tightened at the memory.

Jackal silently nodded, gathered the tea pot and cups, and left. Leaving her in the room that they gave her. It wasn't the same room that she had awoken from on the first day, but the elegant one where she had been readied in for the dinner that very same day.

_Looks even better than my living room_. She smiles bitterly, remembering her dingy house that she had lived in with her brother and her worthless father.

She sighed; she wanted to find her brother so badly. But in her current situation, she was nothing more than a bird trapped in a cage. There was probably no escape unless she was desperate enough to jump out the window; conveniently, her room was placed on the third floor. _Smart_.

She gazed out her frosted window, watching as snow piled up on the window sill. Maybe the snow would cushion her fall.

"An-chan!" She jumped as a familiar red head burst through the door. Eyes wide, she gawked at the red head standing in the middle of her room, arms filled with boxes and colourful paper bags.

"Marui-san? What are you doing here?" She asked slowly, carefully.

Marui grinned, "Well, I know you'd missed me heaps." An snorted at that, "So the ever kind Marui Bunta-sama brought you some presents!" He dropped the arm load of gifts on the round table she was occupying, not caring that the sharp edges of the boxes were fraying the lacy table cloth.

"What? All of this?" She asked, eye widening in shock. "I can't-"

"Yeah! All of it! I got you some hair thingies, some candy and this!" he pulled out a small box from the pile and placed it in front of her. His eyes shone excitedly, "I think you'll definitely like it!" She hesitated, but eventually reached for the box, pulling the top open.

"Ah! This..." She stared at the broach sitting in the middle of the box.

"It's cute right! Isn't it? Stupid Aka-chan said it was creepy, but I know he's just got no sense."

The broach was silver and it was in a shape of a cat, with red gems for the eyes.

"I can't accept this! All of this, Marui-san, you didn't have to..." Marui's smile dropped, and was soon replaced with a pout, "Why not? Do you not like them or something? Next time I'll bring you back something better!"

An wanted to roll her eyes, but it would be too rude, he did have good intentions. "You don't have to get me anything Marui-san, really. I'm sure that it was hard enough with work and all that-"

"Hey! I can't believe you Marui-san! Why didn't you wait for me?" Her words were cut off when Kirihara had decided to burst in to her room as well.

Marui clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Jeez Aka-chan can't you see that me and An-chan are having some alone time here? Quit spoiling the mood." An shook her head at this, while Kirihara rolled his eyes, pushing Marui aside, "Yeah, right. Like she _wants_ to see your face." He took over the seat that Jackal had previously sat in and dug around his pockets.

Ignoring Marui's splutter of protest, he pulled out a tiny bag with a pink ribbon tied around that top to close the bag up. "Here. I think this would suit your more than that monstrosity Marui-san gave you."

"Hey!"

An looked at Kirihara, unsure. "That's really nice of you Kirihara-kun, but I can't, really."

Snorting, Kirihara took her hand and placed the small bag into her palm. "Stop with the shy girl act, we all know you're not really like that. Just...take it ok?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, just take it. You know, Aka-chan missed you a lot. He wouldn't stop whining about you."

Kirihara aimed a kick at Marui's leg, which the red head managed to dodge with a sneaky grin. An quirked an eyebrow, "Oh really?" her hand closed around the small bag, unknowingly her fingers wrap around Kirihara's longer ones.

Kirihara's face reddened slightly, "I-! It's not like I was worried or anything! It's-Wait, I didn't whine! That was you doing all the whining and me having to listen to all your crap." He pointed a finger accusingly at the red head with his hand that was still free.

An giggled, "That sounds more believable."

Marui huffed, going down on his knees with his elbows propped up on the table, "Well you can't blame me. You're here all stuck on your lonesome with _Jackal_ of all people. That guy is just so damn boring, not like awesome me." An nudged the red head playfully, "Hey, be nice. Jackal-san is a very kind person."

It was true, Jackal had been very nice to her. Though she disliked anything related to the mafia, she couldn't help liking the dark skinned man, as well as Marui and Kirihara. Grudgingly, she had to admit they weren't all that bad. Back in the earlier Fudomine days, she had despised the members and through time, there was an understanding between them.

_But, it's different_. Those people were loyal to her brother. She watched Marui tease Kirihara, _But where do these people stand_?

"So...are you two just gonna hold hands all day or what?"

An and Kirihara's eyes widened in shock, the former immediately pulled away while the latter could only gape and splutter. "I...she...you...arg! Whatever, I'm gonna go shower." Red faced, Kirihara scurried out the door while Marui laughed at his retreating back.

"Aw, how cute. But you know An-chan, that's not fair. I want to hold hands too!" Marui immediately took over Kirihara's previous spot, a big Cheshire cat grin on this face, "I can...can't I?"

An giggled, "Marui-san, don't you have something to do right now? Like reporting to Yukimura-san?" she teased, a pale finger wagging in front of his face, "Do you want Jackal-san to come drag you to his office again?" Marui scoffed, "Jackal can kiss my ass. Besides, I doubt Boss would mind, we weren't due back until later this week anyways."

An arched a brow, "But don't you need to rest? Or go relax? You must be tired."

Marui and Kirihara had been away from the manor for a few weeks now, leaving cheerfully and giving her quick reassurances that they would be back soon. Though she may not be very familiar with how things were done in the mafia, she had heard the kinds of gossip that goes around the manor. She was certain that it wasn't simple scouting jobs or meetings. From what she had heard, Marui was a well trained and extremely skilled sniper; most of his jobs were assassinations of specific individuals.

Her eyes trained on the dark circles under his eyes and noted the unfocused glaze of his eyes. He offered a smile, and the tired edge to it was quite visible to even someone like her, an ordinary girl trapped in a house full of strangers.

"You could really use it Marui-san." Marui pouted, pretending to look slightly miffed by An's words. "Brushing me off now, huh? How cold. Here I was, so totally worried about you being bored and lonely, and you try to get rid of me at the drop of a hat." An rolled her eyes at his dramatic words, shooing him off with a wave of her hands, "How evil of me. Of course. I'm being serious here, I'll talk to you later. It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon." She said sarcastically.

Marui sighed loudly, standing up from his seat, "Alright, alright, I can take a hint." He paused, hands splayed out on the table. "Wait...oh yeah I almost forgot, I did have something to do."

Grinning impishly, he leaned forward, pressing his lips against An's forehead. He pulled away, sending the surprised An a smug smile, "I'm home."

She swiped at Marui's arm weakly, face reddening, "Stupid!"

He laughed, pulling away, her hand narrowly missing his arm. "Well, I better be going now. I believe your caretaker will be back soon, later!" he skipped happily out the door, almost running in to an annoyed Jackal, the tray in his hand tipped slightly as he tried to avoid the grinning red head. The taller man narrowed his eyes at the retreating back of his, unfortunately, partner.

"Why is that idiot so happy?" he mumbled to himself, closing the door behind him with a slight frown.

"Don't ask." An replied, frostily. Jackal sighed, setting the tray in front of the annoyed brunette.

"Marui being Marui?"

"Marui-san being a good for nothing flirt." Jackal chuckled, unloading the contents of the tray out for her, "Ah, so nothing new."

* * *

><p>"OUCH! GOD DAMN, IT HURTS YOU-!" Niou snorted, giving Kirihara a hard slap on the back.<p>

"Watch it squinty eyes! That freakin' hurts." Kirihara glared at Niou, pulling his shirt over his freshly bandaged torso. Flinching at the sting of his wounds, he turned to the bored looking man who was silently throwing the bloodied cotton balls into the trash.

"Kinda surprised you're still hanging around," Kirihara gently rubbed his aching side, "When did you get back?" Niou shrugged, "Last week...but me and Yagyuu are heading out tomorrow."

Kirihara groaned, "Serious? Damn. Well, take your time then. When you get back, I'll probably have another job to do. Whats with Sanada-san lately? He's been giving us a hell of a lot of work lately. And not the easy kind." He mumbled, running his hand through his hair. He leaned back against the sofa, eyes slidding closed slowly, "I think Marui-san is out to get me."

Niou stopped toying with the roll of bandages in his hands, looking up at Kirihara from off the carpeted floor. "Oh?"

"He knew it. He defintely knew it." Kirihara muttered darkly.

Niou silently watched him grimly as the curly haired man sat up from his comfortable slouch.

"He defintely sent me in there alone to be their walking target." He stated flatly.

Niou rolled his eyes, "Oh. You were talking about that." The man turned his attention back to the roll in his hands, winding it up quickly, "For a minute there I thought...uh, nevermind."

Kirihara craned his neck towards the now silent man, eyeing him suspiciously, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing."

"Was that suppose to convince me?"

"Nope."

Kirihara's mood immediately soured, "What are you hiding? You...did you hide my report in the guys' dirty laundry basket _again_? If you did...and if Marui-san is behind this too, I'll kill both of you. And then tell Boss."

"Wow. I don't know which is scarier." Niou replied sarcastically, "And no, we didn't do that. How childish do you think I am?"

"You did that twice. In one month."

"Look brat. Let's just drop it, ok? I'll buy you an ice cream cone later if you do."

"Who's a brat, you ass. Fine I'll drop it...wait, what the hell? Don't bribe me with ice cream!" Kirihara immediately regretted bolting up from his seat, as he quickly doubled over in pain.

"Well that was smart." Niou muttered, he bent over Kirihara, hands braced on his bent knees.

"Enough already. Just go..." Kirihara groaned, rolling on the ground. "Having you around is more trouble than it's worth."

Niou straightened with an amused smile, "Hey, I just bandaged you up, ungrateful brat. Where's my thank you." Kirihara throws his shoe at Niou, "How about no? Don't you have to prepare for your job?"

Sighing exaggeratedly, Niou shrugs, "Fine, you need your beauty sleep. Got it." Before Kirihara could bite back a retort, the older man hastily leaves the fuming man's room with a frown.

"Well," he rubs his chin thoughtfully, "I didn't think Marui would be able to figure it out that fast anyways." With another sigh, he ran his fingers through his bangs. "Why'd I choose to stay with them again?"

* * *

><p>"Atobe-kun."<p>

"Ryuuzaki-sama. It's been awhile hasn't it?" A man with short hair smirked at the elderly women sitting leisurely on the couch with an unamused frown. "What can I do for you? It's quite unusual for you to call me out to this..." he paused, eyeing the VIP room of the bar with distaste, "Wonderful establishment."

Ryuuzaki Sumire eyed him agitatedly, "Do you think I'm a fool? You know why I called you here."

Atobe could sense Kabaji, his ever loyal follower, tense behind. "Now, now." He chuckled humourlessly, "No need to be so hostile." He flicked his hand to the side of the room, his men obediently stood to the side of the room, facing Sumire's own men who eyed them suspiciously.

He takes the seat opposite of the elderly lady, reaching into his coat pocket to take out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. "So, to business than?" he lights his cigarette with a smirk.

"You have some nerve, brat."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Sumire leaned forward with a glare, "You know what I'm talking about. And I'm telling you know to back down."

Atobe sneered, pulling the cigarette from between his lips, "Are you threatening me?"

"Yes I am." Sumire sat up straighter, her glare much fiercer. "Fudomine is under our protection, and if you know what's good for you, back off."

Atobe paused thoughtfully, his cigarette still between his thumb and index finger. "Unfortunately, Ryuuzaki-sama, I cannot agree to that." He puts out his cigarette on the ashtray, and leans back in his seat with a haughty grin, "War is it? Fine. War it is."

Sumire pursed her lips in agitation, "Than its war." She nodded to her men, who immediately surround her retreating figure as they left the room.

"Tezuka." She mumbles softly for the brunette beside her to hear, "Inform everyone later, understand?"

The stoic man nodded, "Yes, Boss."

Atobe watched the Seigaku boss leave with a smirk, watching Kabaji close the door behind them.

"War...huh?" he splays his fingers across his face, chuckling darkly, "Well, we'll have to see how long that will last."

Through the thick wooden door of the VIP room, many gunshots could be heard, as well as loud yelling and screams.

**END OF CHAPTER 1**


	6. Chapter 2

**Dirt on My Shoes**

She didn't particularly hate surprises or anything, but given the current circumstances, she couldn't help feeling slightly cautious. Sitting in front of her currently, was Yukimura Seiichi. A smiling Yukimura Seiichi.

"So, Yukimura-san..." she eyed him uneasily, "What can I do for you?"

Yukimura smiled sweetly, "Well you see An-san. I was hoping you would accompany me out today."

An blinked, "Ah...out? As in outside?"

Yukimura's smile had not faltered but his voice showed his clear amusement, "Yes, outside. Where you can get some fresh air. You have been kept in the manor for months now; some clean air should do you some good."

She gaped at him, "Oh...is that alright though? I mean, aren't you afraid I'll try to run away or something?" she fidgeted nervously, her words slow and cautious.

"Oh? Are you planning to?" Yukimura crosses his arms, leaning them on the table between them with his ever present smile.

She quickly shook her head, "No! Of course not." She brushes her hair away, preventing stray strands from obscuring her vision, "I was just curious, I mean I'm-"

"An-san." The blunette spoke firmly, his smile gone. "I believe I said that you are our guest. Not a prisoner." An glanced at his face uneasily, Yukimura had a neutral mask on, his eyes boring into her own. "I don't mind you leaving the manor once in a while, but I do wish that you would have at least one of us by your side. It doesn't sit well with me, having you run around without someone to protect you."

An stared at Yukimura, surprise tinting her voice. "Protection? Yukimura-san, with all due respect I don't need any protection."

"Oh? Is that so?" His tone now condescending, eyes staring blankly at her.

An flinched. _Oh I'm going to regret this._

"I've spent weeks hiding from those bastards. I've never been caught since...since my brother disappeared." Her eyes fell on the table, her hands clasped tightly against the skirt of her dress, causing it to bunch up. "I can take care of myself. I've been doing that for years." Her voice trembled, before her eyes flickered up to look Yukimura straight in the eye. "I'm very thankful for your kindness Yukimura-san, truly. But I don't need you to worry about me. I'm sure you and your men have much more important things to take care of besides playing bodyguard to a complete stranger."

Yukimura didn't speak. He watched the petit young woman in front of him squirm under his gaze, however, she continued to keep eye contact with his own.

He chuckled, "I can see that. Nevertheless, I cannot allow such a pretty lady to be unescorted. Yagyuu-kun would be very disappointed in me." His smile returning, he stands, circling around the table to stand at her side.

"Now, may I have the honour of escorting said pretty lady around town?" He offered her his hand, "I'm sure you haven't looked around Kanagawa yet, and the weather is so nice today." An looked at his pale hand, still extended towards her, waiting for her to take it. Her eyes flicked up towards his smiling face, and ever so hesitantly, she placed her smaller one in his. Yukimura's long, pale fingers closed around her hand in a tight grip; and with a small tug, he got her on her feet.

"Now than, shall we?" he placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and lead her out of his office.

* * *

><p>Her eyes twinkled as she eyed the strawberry shortcake in front of her, not seeing the knowing smile Yukimura had hidden behind the rim of his cup.<p>

"This is the best cafe in town. Renji and I used to come here all the time when we were younger. That shortcake is one of my personal favourites; I think you'll quite like it as well."

An's cheeks reddened slightly, looking down in embarrassment, "Ah, but I-"

Yukimura's laughter cuts her off, "Don't worry about it An-san, it's my treat. After all, I was the one who asked you out on a date today."

An choked on her cup of cafe au lait. "Date?!"

Nodding good humouredly, Yukimura smiles sweetly, "Well when a man asks a woman to-"

"I know what a date is Yukimura-san." Her face now scarlet, "It's just, when did this become a date? I thought you were just going to show me around Kanagawa."

"That's a date."

"This isn't a-!"

He laughs, sounding genuine for once. "I can see why Niou-kun likes to tease you so much."

She frowned, lips drawn into a thin line, "Ah well, it's because he's a jerk. He just likes to rile me up is all..."

"Oh?" Yukimura leaned back in his seat, amused, "I know that Niou-kun has quite a...sadistic side, but I doubt he does it to spite you intentionally."

An grunted, digging her fork in to her strawberry shortcake, "I bet."

Yukimura chuckled against the rim of his cup, taking a small sip before placing back on the saucer.

"I'm sure it's because he finds you quite cute."

"Pfft." An spluttered, her face splotched red. "I...I really don't know what to say to that..." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, clearing her throat quietly to mask her embarrassment. "Except that you're most likely wrong. Very wrong."

Yukimura hummed thoughtfully, "Really? I don't think I'm wrong though, I think you're very cute."

Sliding down in her seat with a groan, she pressed her hands on her flaming cheeks.

_What's with this guy?_

His facial expression hadn't changed, but An was certain that this man was having fun teasing her.

Sitting up straighter, she turned her attention to the young man with a somber look.

"Yukimura-san."

"Yes, An-san."

"May I ask you something?" she questioned, slowly.

"Of course," Yukimura laces his fingers together, "ask me whatever you like."

An nodded, looking him in the eyes steadily. "I wanted to know the reason why you're looking for my brother."

His shoulder stiffened marginally, though she had hardly noticed it herself, her brown eyes boring into his questioningly. "Why I'm looking for Kippei-kun?" He reaffirmed slowly, his gaze never wavering.

She nodded, her lips pursed tightly. "I doubt you're doing this from the goodness of your heart." Her cheeks flushed slightly, "Sorry, I don't mean that to sound so rude, but..."

Yukimura spoke, as if not hearing her timid apology. "An-san, you really don't know anything about what your brother has been doing?" An tensed at his quiet business like tone.

"No. I...don't really pay much mind to what he does." Her fists clenched tight, laying still on her lap.

Leaning forward, Yukimura's face hovering close to hers, she could the warm breath brush against her cheek as he spoke quietly, "Then don't try to understand." His cool voice made her involuntarily shudder, her jaw tightening. His brown eyes traced the nervousness on her face with cool indifference before leaning back into his seat.

Smiling good naturedly, he picks up his cup again. "Now, let's hurry and finish up here. I'm sure the others are wondering where we are by now."

* * *

><p>"Hey, have you seen An?" Kirihara poked his head in Marui's office, a scowl on his face, "I can't find her anywhere."<p>

"Huh? Oh? Yeah? That's nice." The red head mumbled absent-mindedly, while scribbling down his signature on another form.

"Hey! You listening to me? I said I can't find her _anywhere_. As in not in the manor. Jackal's flipping the whole place over looking for her."

"Ok." Marui replied, tongue sticking out between his lips as he filled out another form with his sloppy signature.

"You, my sugar addicted friend, are completely useless." Kirhara grumbled, stepping into his office and shutting the door loudly behind him.

"You do realize that if she got kidnapped or something, Sanada-san and Boss will have our heads for this right?"

Marui's hand hovers over the next form, "Oh shit." The red heads eyes grew wide. "You're right. They'll feed us to the dogs."

"What! So you were listening you bast-" Outraged, the curly haired young man narrowed his eyes and stalked closer to the redhead, who was now quietly mumbling to himself.

"Well, if push comes to shove, we can just blame Jackal. I mean he's the official babysitter, right?" Marui grinned cheekily, while Kirihara simply scowled.

"It doesn't matter. We're all screwed."

"Marui. Akaya." The two jumped in surprise, heads turning towards the previously closed door in shock. There looming at their only escape stood a very angry Sanada.

Kirihara started to eye around the room nervously while a quiet 'oh shit' was uttered behind him.

"H-hey Sanada-san...what can we-"

"Gone."

Marui squeezed his eyes shut and uttered a silent prayer under his breath, he could visibly see the color drain out of the younger man's face as Sanada's expression continued to darken with each step he took towards the pair.

"Boss is missing."

Kirihara and Marui stared blankly at him, before a small, nervous smile graced the red head's face. "O-oh! Boss? H-he probably just went out. You know, doing his...usual...thing." He wanted to slap himself, god did that sound lame. Kirihara was hardly helping the situation, deciding that keeping his mouth shut this time would prevent any physical harm the fuming second in command could cause to their being.

Sanada looked hardly amused, "He has not informed me about anything. His car is missing as well."

Marui gnawed at his lips uneasily, "Well, maybe he went with Yanagi. You know how they are, being best buds and all..."

"Yanagi is in Tokyo right now for an important meeting." He once again countered coldly.

Boy, did Marui wish that Niou was here right now. The little sneak could probably get him out of this mess.

The room was filled with an awkward silence.

"Akaya! Have you found An-san yet?" Marui really wanted to deck Jackal right now. The dark skinned man immediately froze at the door as he saw Sanada standing a few paces in front of him.

Kirihara groaned, covering his face with his hands in agony. They were _so_ dead.

"Tachibana An, where is she." It wasn't a question as much as a demand from the demon lord himself. No one dared to answer, as the man in the middle of the room, stared at the other men coldly. "Well."

Jackal fidgeted nervously, but was immediately saved by a loud cry that could be heard from the whole hallway. "Hey everyone! Boss and Tachibana-san are back!"

Everyone in the room perked up, Jackal swiftly turned around, grabbing the young boy bolting by as he continued to call out.

"Is that true...uh?" Jackal looked questioningly at the boy with brown hair and rosy red cheeks, trying to place a name but not quite remembering it.

"Urayama Shiita!" The brunette chirped, excitedly bouncing on his heels. "Boss and Tachibana-san are in the foyer right now!" Jackal nodded, "Alright, thank you Urayama." Giving a quick bow to everyone, the brunette continued running down the hall.

Kirihara sighed in relief, his knees still shaking slightly from his almost near death experience, "Oh, well, maybe we should all go check on them now…"he freezes when Sanada fixes him with a cold stare. "We'll talk later." Sanada turns to eye the other two as well, before turning on his heels and leaving the room.

"Thanks a lot Jackal." Marui scowled, he throws his favourite glass paper weight at him in annoyance. "Now we'll never hear the end of it."

Jackal ducks to avoid the glass projectile, glaring at the red head. "Like I'd know he'd be here looking for Boss." He glanced at a fidgeting Kirihara with annoyance, "Look…what's done is done; we should go check up on An-san and Boss." Jackal pauses and grins weakly, "And let's make sure that Sanada-san doesn't do anything to scare the poor girl."

Marui shudders in his seat, "Do we have too?" he whines loudly, head hung low over his paperwork, "I think we're in enough shit already." Kirihara chuckles weakly, "What? I thought you said you're her knight in shining armor. What if he's going to strangle the life out of her? Shouldn't you go and protect her oh-great-knight? Some gentleman you turned out to be."

"You're thinking of Yagyuu." Marui mutters lamely, "Alright, fine. Whatever, let's go get ourselves killed…The things I do for cute girls."

Kirihara pales slightly, eyes growing wide. "Hey! I didn't say I was going too!"

Without a word, Jackal and Marui flanked both sides of Kirihara, their hands firmly gripping the protesting man's arm.

"Sorry man," Marui smirks at the curly haired man, "All for one and one for all."

* * *

><p>Sanada didn't bother knocking at Yukimura's office door, simply walked in with a quiet apology and a slight dip of his head.<p>

Yukimura, in the middle of removing his leather gloves, pauses and noted the tense set of his right hand man's shoulders. "Genichirou? What's wrong?"

Sanada looks to the other person occupying the room and a cold stare; An shifted awkwardly from the side of the room, her small frame still wrapped in a thick white pea coat and pink scarf.

"Boss, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you. You had left without even letting a single person know." Sanada's attention fixed on the slightly guilty looking man.

"Ah, yes. I'm so sorry to have worried you Genichirou, I had decided to take An-san out and had completely forgotten about letting you know." Yukimura smiles gently at the stone-faced man, "I really am sorry, I won't forget to do so next time."

An inwardly cringed at his words, she silently hoped that there wasn't a next time. Ever. The smiling man was a hundred times more terrifying than the currently upset Sanada.

Still looking displeased, Sanada nodded slightly before approaching the brunette in the room. Within four steps, he towered over An with an menacing aura.

Yukimura shook his head, turning his back towards the pair. "Genichirou. Please escort An-san back to her room, I have things I must attend to."

Without another word, Sanada had An's upper arm in his iron grip, bowing slightly, he drags the protesting brunette out of the room. Yukimura watches them from the corner of his eye with a slight frown. "Try not to hurt her, Genichirou. Really, as a gentleman you should know better."

The scowling man didn't reply, merely concentrating on taking the upset An back to her room.

* * *

><p>"Ah, An-cha-" Marui started but immediately decided not to interfere. Kirihara and Jackal watched nervously beside him as they watched an angry Sanada tow An away towards her room.<p>

"Hey, Marui…" Jackal watched as An tried to get Sanada to let go of her arm, "Shouldn't we be doing something now." He asked quietly.

"I really don't want to get involved in that…you don't think he'll hit her do you?" Kirihara asked while he tugged at his sleeve with a frown, "I mean she's a girl and all, but this is the Demon Lord we're talking about here so…" he drawled out slowly, turning to the two seniors with a questioning look.

Marui gnawed at his lip, a small frown and a dramatic huff later, he turned to the other two. "Well, jumping in right now would probably just get us all killed, so maybe we'll just follow them for now. If he decides to beat the crap out of her, we can always just jump in…right?"

The other two looked at him with unsure stares, but not knowing what to do, they decided it was their only form of action without making the situation worse.

"Damn I really wish Yanagi was here."

"Sanada-san, please let go! You're hurting me!" An struggles to pry the man's finger from her arm. The man however, chose to ignore her pleas as his continues to lead her to her room.

She turns to assess the hallway, and to her disappointment, she found that it was deserted. "Sanada-san!"

Arriving in front of her room , Sanada roughly pushes the door open. Kicking the door closed behind him, he whirls around to pin the smaller woman against it.

Granted, he wasn't physically pinning her down, but the cold fury rolling off his person along with his piercing glare had made it seem that way. His looming shadow engulfs An as he continues to glare down at her, not saying a word.

Her knees shook nervously, but she tries to ease the trembling as best she can as she instead chose to stare nervously at his shoulder instead of facing the angry man.

"Stay away from Boss." He spoke coldly, eyes never leaving her trembling form. An could feel the warmth of his breathe against the crown of her head, causing her to flinch away slightly at the close proximity.

"I-"

"Stay away from him. He does not need any distractions, especially from the likes of you." His words were low and cool; he eases away from her when she chose to remain silent. He guides her by the shoulder away from the door, and with a quick glance from the corner of his eyes, exits quickly.

An, slumped against the wall, glares at his retreating back.

"Wow, someone's extra grumpy today." Marui muttered, quickly slipping into the room with a frowning Kirihara and a withdrawn Jackal. "Are you okay An-chan?" the red head asked softly, placing a hand firmly on her shoulder.

An nodded stiffly, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm used to it." The gruff and cold demeanor was all too familiar.

Kirihara's eyebrow quirked upwards questioningly, but chose not to say anything as he watched Jackal help her out of her coat.

"Well, he's probably going to be avoiding you from now on, so don't worry about it. You've got us here to watch your back." Marui grinned, ruffling her hair affectionately, "You've got nothing to worry about."

An nodded again, "Yeah." She replied quietly, not all that worried.

She was used to it after all.

It just reminded her of _him_.

**END OF CHAPTER 2**

A/N: I'm so sorry. It's been forever. Seriously, thanks for reading and reviewing! I do read them, but I'm so busy I've got no time to reply to everyone. Much love and appreciation from me!


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